3 construction workers dead after fall from Tokyo office tower

Three workers are dead after an Aug. 11 fall from an office tower under construction in Tokyo’s Marunouchi business district.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department’s Marunouchi Station, a man in his 50s working on the inner walls of the fifth floor fell when the steel plate flooring gave way at about 4:30 p.m. Two more workers in their 40s were caught in the fall, and all three men fell all the way down to the third basement level. They were pronounced dead at hospital.

Police are investigating the accident as a suspected case of professional negligence resulting in death, and are looking into why the steel plate flooring shifted out of place.

The building is set to have 30 stories above ground plus four basement levels, and is scheduled for completion in October 2018. The steel frame currently stands 21 stories tall.